Match Made in Wedding | Rajvardhan Hangargekar ✓

Love Bound

Kritika Pillai

"Just one photo, please Appa. You look so good!"

"Ponnu, we are going to take a lot of family photographs during the wedding."

"I know Appa but the whole family is here." I watch Devi take a glance around the Aangan. She spots Rutu's mother talking to our mother and smiles.

"Everyone who needed to arrive has arrived. Why wait to click a picture?"

Devi is 21 but her spirit is still the same. Still thriving on her slipping philosophy.

"Besides who knows, kal ho na ho..." Appa rolls his eyes at her dramatic dialogue delivery and gestures, "As you wish." Which is enough for Devi to break into a run and knock on every door and call everyone down.

Many arrive with confused faces but one arrives sleepy. And that is enough to get on her nerves.

"Ughhhhhh. It's literally eleven in the morning. Who gets up at eleven? Why are you invited again? Let it be, I don't want to know."

Rajvardhan watches her ramble with an amused expression. I notice how his squinty eyes have become normal now.

"Indian weddings mien thoda drama toh mandatory hai." Rutu slides in next to me.

"Drama? I smell some chemistry."

"So do I. Poor guy seems smitten by her and she doesn't even know his name!"

Rutu empathizing with Raj makes me reminisce how I had been hell bent on calling him Gaikwad.

"Besides, even if she gets to know his name, I'm sure she'll prefer calling him Hangarekar."

I shove him away with my arms. He was thinking about the same thing then.

"Avengers assemble, quick quick! Choose your spots. We don't have time. I have received fresh orders from Rutu's Ajji saying that the wada has to be cleaned and we all need to get out after this photo is taken. Chalo everyone, make haste."

Amma and Appa are standing on my side, to the right. And Aai and Baba are on Rutu's left. I see a lot of commotion due to height problems. The short heighted people are sent forward to kneel in front. Yet the tall heighted ones are struggling behind. Jaddu sees a newspaper lying on a chair and picks it up. He rolls it to form a tube and shouts through it, "Gaanv valo..... let's be sensitive to even the tall ones today. And let's make some space otherwise someone is bound to get cut from the frame."

To that Sai responds, "I have an idea to save space. Calling everyone who has some, how do you say it in Hindi? Have some bum in the bazu?" He looks at Anmol who tells him it's dum and not bum. But he has lost the others because everyone is laughing. He shakes his head and lifts Anmol up. Jaddu follows him and so does Cherry. And soon the impossible task of everyone being seen looks possible.

"May I?" Rutu asks me.

"You may always." I permit.

In his arms I get an exclusive view of what's happening on my right and I see Devi with a wistful expression.

"What is it?" I look up to Rutu.

"Seems like Sam hasn't asked to pick Devi up yet. And that's making our little girl sad."

He chuckles hearing that. "And where's Raj in all this?" I try finding him but can't see him in my peripheral vision. Rutu smartly turns me, giving me a better view.

"Thanks, love."

"Always. Did you spot him?"

"I did. He's making his way to her. The boy has no idea what he's risking!! Once Appa sees the photo he's dead."

"Come on Kriti. Appa isn't that bad. Ask me, I've been through it. Thank God your father doesn't believe in passive agressive slow deaths. One interrogation is all he needs to gauge if the guy is suitable for his daughter or not."

I smile at the memory.

I see Raj lift Devi and Devi protest. But her protests quieten when she's shushed by him. God knows what he tells her but she's speaking loudly to get everyone's attention.

"I've set the timer. Everyone keep saying cheese for some time."

I don't have to smile because I'm already smiling.

"Wonderful. Just let me check a few photos to see if everyone is visible."

Rutu And I rush to her side to get a look at the photographs. Thankfully everyone's in the frame. I notice Devi zooming over her face and Raj's face. I share a glance with Rutu.

They both look genuinely happy as if they weren't fighting moments ago. I ask Devi to give her phone to me for a few minutes.

With Amma and Aai throwing all of us out I don't have a lot of time to look at the photos but I make the most of these moments.

I realise how most of Rutu's side includes his friends and his teammates whereas mine has a few friends and a few relatives. We seem a family of complete mismatches. Noone looks related to the person standing next to them, yet the same joy can be seen on all faces.

You don't have to be bloodbound to share joy, do you?

A/n ~ There's something so special about family photographs :)